Kubi or Rolock dry gloves

[edgrimley]

Thanks for the discussion and guidance on this thread. My buddy has a Seaskin and went with the Antares - had lots of problems (that others have mentioned). Normal wrist movements unlocked the seal and he got wet often.

He went with Rolock 90 which retrofits nicely into the Seaskin. I went down the rabbit hole and got the Rolock classic to put on my BARE suit with conventional latex bottle wrist seals. Replaced a classic round Sci-Tech Quick Glove system. I've had a few leaks over the years and was hoping to find something that would have more of a certain "lock" than the Quick Glove system. Every now and then some debris or a pinched o-ring has resulted in a leak with that system. Operator error for the most part.

He had his first truly dry dives ever and installation was a a snap.

I had a tougher time with installation.
1. The inside-out maneuver was a challenge. I was in fear of tearing my seals. Some baby powder to smooth the process helped (may have seen that tip here or a blog post).
2. Lining up the installation to the center of your wrist is important. Don/doffing is with a wrist twist. If you are too far to the right/left in either direction it can make it too hard or easy to get the gloves on or off. In my case, I got a leak on the ladder coming out of my first dive with the glove system.

Now that we're both up and running - very happy with the Rolock after a few dives.

 

[Sebs]

Hey all,

I went for a dive on Sunday and noticed that the red O-rings on my Kubis have a lot of cracks in them. They stayed dry but I am nonetheless concerned about failure at the worst possible time. Have people had this issue? The suit has been used less than 10 times.
Someone mentioned here they use a bit of saliva to "lubricate" the rings to make them easier to remove post dive and I've been doing this. Could this have contributed?

If I need to buy new O-rings, should I get replacements from Kubi directly?

Cheers

 

[admikar]

Unless you're a distant kin of The Alien, your saliva shouldn't do that.

 

[Boarderguy]

Hey all,

I went for a dive on Sunday and noticed that the red O-rings on my Kubis have a lot of cracks in them. They stayed dry but I am nonetheless concerned about failure at the worst possible time. Have people had this issue? The suit has been used less than 10 times.
Someone mentioned here they use a bit of saliva to "lubricate" the rings to make them easier to remove post dive and I've been doing this. Could this have contributed?

If I need to buy new O-rings, should I get replacements from Kubi directly?

Cheers

Mine are 9 months old and show zero wear or cracks. Silicone your rings occasionally and if in a pinch you can use saliva but shouldn't need it if you've lubed them up in the past.

Order new o-rings, they're cheap and keep you dry.

 

[Wibble]

I went for a dive on Sunday and noticed that the red O-rings on my Kubis have a lot of cracks in them.

Have people had this issue?

Yes. The Kubi red rings seem very susceptible to cracking. Often wondered if it's the material used: soft and red?

Have replaced my red rings at least twice in the life of the suit. Would be nice if someone found compatible black ones that don't crack.

 

[No_Stress]

Prying apart Kubi rings or Ultima DGS rings after a dive with cold fingers when you have to have the urge to pee is a pain in the arse whether or not the o-rings are lubed.

Just sayin.

-Z

1st of all. No it aint. Been diving with the kubis for years. If you live them once every few months they require almost no effort to remove. And second, guess you need a pee valve.

 

[Boarderguy]

Prying apart Kubi rings or Ultima DGS rings after a dive with cold fingers when you have to have the urge to pee is a pain in the arse whether or not the o-rings are lubed.

Just sayin.

-Z

Don't know if I saw this just year or not but they are a breeze to open. I lube mine every 10-15 dives or if they've sat for a long time (month+). I break the suit seal with my kubi rings before I even think about the zipper. Couple fingers on the ring and pull lightly and I get the sweet relief of the vacuum being broken.

 

[Wibble]

Prying apart Kubi rings or Ultima DGS rings after a dive with cold fingers when you have to have the urge to pee is a pain in the arse whether or not the o-rings are lubed.

Do you have a bolt snap on your chest D-ring? If so, use it to prise the Kubi glove off the suit ring.
Or use a belt buckle.
Or use the back of your knife.
A spool from your pocket, etc., etc...
Loads of options.

But the solution to the urgency is the second most important technological innovation for scuba diving: the pee valve.

 

[Brett Hatch]

Hey all,

I went for a dive on Sunday and noticed that the red O-rings on my Kubis have a lot of cracks in them. They stayed dry but I am nonetheless concerned about failure at the worst possible time. Have people had this issue? The suit has been used less than 10 times.
Someone mentioned here they use a bit of saliva to "lubricate" the rings to make them easier to remove post dive and I've been doing this. Could this have contributed?

If I need to buy new O-rings, should I get replacements from Kubi directly?

Cheers

I have noticed cracks on the red o-ring a few times. Didn't experience any leaks from it, but I replaced them anyway -- might not have been necessary, but I didn't trust them like that. The two times it has happened to mine, it has been in periods where I was half-assing my post-dive maintenance routine. So I think it either comes from sitting in the sun, or from not rinsing saltwater off sufficiently well. Now I give them a fresh water soak after each dive, and dry them either indoors or in the shade, and I haven't had cracks in a long time.

I do spit on or lick the red o-ring before inserting the glove side into the cuff side. Can't remember where I learned that trick, maybe here on ScubaBoard. Makes it easy to doff an hour or two later, every time. And, I do lube the red ring occasionally, maybe every 6 months or so. But, I was doing all of that when I was getting the cracks too, so I blame poor cleaning rather than poor lubing.

 

[broncobowsher]

If you are prying your Kubis apart, you are doing it wrong. Very wrong.
The only time they will jam is if you try to pry them apart. They are 2 machined tubes that fit into each other. A straight pull or maybe a slight walk it back and forth and they come right apart. You CANNOT just grab one side and yank and expect them to come apart. 100% operator error.